I bought some Libby's at Grocery Outlet yesterday. I believe it said it was from Brazil. I was curious and getting ready for post-apocalyptic fine dining. It had a definite future pull date so not from some old box lot.

Do you usually get roast duck unchopped? I always get it chopped up at Gum Wah and never had any problems.

I had tea-smoked duck at Great China this weekend. We got half of a larger duck than I remember in the past. The breast was very meaty. I thought it was a little dry, but I'm expecting the leftovers to make a good 2nd meal. I made a bao with a particularly meaty piece and plum sauce. Still no traction. Then I decided to include one of the garnish orange slices. That made the whole sandwich come alive. Duck a l'orange Chinoise!

I only mentioned it as an example of why I don't think it is unusual for a restaurant to buy their roast ducks. In that one case a Chinese deli that made their own ducks bought one from a competitor to fill my order.

I misremembered the facts. No one ever told me where GC gets their duck. I have a suspicion based on my limited experience in Oakland Chinatown. I never buy Peking duck to go so have no idea how it actually compares to GC's. If I order duck there, it's the tea-smoked.

Roast duck. I think the place I was going to on Clement over 5 years ago did their own, but I don't even know that for a fact. It was on the north side of the street several blocks west of Green Apple. I think a Vietnamese place moved into their spot. The youngish owner had some sort of health problem.

I forget who exactly told me about where GC got there ducks. It wasn't a staff member, but someone else who had the run of the place or another customer

Since I am friendly with everyone there, I won't say exactly how much, but it didn't seem to me that they were getting a wholesale price. Of course there is always the chance that there are no waters in Casablanca and I have been misinformed.

I've only had the Peking duck a few times. I much prefer the tea smoked at GC and roasted in general. I like the way the skin kind of crinkles up and the fatty duck juice.

I used to buy roast ducks at a takeout place on Clement that had great chow mein and prepared dishes. Once when I had ordered ahead and they forgot to save one for me, they went out to one of their competitors and bought a duck for me there! It wasn't as good as theirs.

I usually look for a plump bird with somewhat burnished skin. One that doesn't look kind of dried out. And I have them leave the drumsticks whole to be eaten American style.

It amazes me how much difference it makes when you choose your own bird. When I recently asked for half a steamed chicken, they tried to get me to buy a whole, small one. I said I wanted half. They suggested half of a large one. I agreed. A large one has larger breasts, which is exactly what I want to eat with their ginger sauce. There breast pieces had almost twice the meat on them as when I get a smaller bird. I never thought about that before.

Even after all these years picking out my own birds, I sometimes feel kind of intimidated since I don't really speak the language.

I don't care how hot or cold it is, New Orleans hands down. Twice I stopped for a long weekend in the Crescent City on the way home from business in Tampa. One year it was very hot, one on the heels of a big storm and there was ice on the ground out on Magazine St. Still, absolutely no question: New Orleans, Brigtsen's, Bon Ton Cafe, Streetcar Sandwiches, Austin Leslie's fried chicken.

If you like food, you'll do your own cooking whether you dine alone or a deux. I do tend to make more one-dish meals and improvise from purchased ingredients. Personally, I like to read the sports page when I eat alone and the paper also serves as a table cloth for crumbs.

Just think, you do get to make your meal exactly the way you like it. You can eat whenever you like and no need to dress for dinner!

When I was a boy in Berkeley (BCP - Before Chez Panisse), we used to love those CB pizzas. I believe that we added salami or pepperoni and maybe more pre shredded mozzarella. Later we discovered more traditional pizza at Giovanni's and Granata's, but still have fond memories of Chef Boyardee. What nationality is the name Boyardee anyway?